It’s fun to imagine you’ll be the first person who never sprouts a gray hair, but lo and behold, you wake up one morning—or catch a closeup of your hairline in the rear view mirror—and see some shiny tinsel poking through. Fighting it quickly turns into an uphill battle, but there are smart gray coloring techniques that effortlessly blend silvery strands with the rest of your hair. We asked stylists for some of their favorite ways to do exactly this—here’s what they recommend.
- Gina Rivera, hair artist and founder of Phenix Salon Suites.
- Christine Bellemare, hair stylist and owner of Maven A Collect.
- Lauren Paglionico, master colorist and founder of LRN Beauty in New York City.
Balayage
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Balayage, also known as hair painting, is one of the best hair color innovations of the last 50 years, and it’s only grown in popularity. “Balayage is a great technique for blending gray hair, especially when you have a wavy texture,” says Lauren Paglionico, master colorist and founder of LRN Beauty in New York City. “With balayage, you are sweeping the color onto the hair and blending it into the gray rather than applying it all over like a single process. The grow-out is subtle and low maintenance.”
Hair Glossing
Glossing is a fantastic way to blend gray while boosting shine and neutralizing yellowness that can occur with gray hair. “This high gloss has the ability to shift the hair just enough that it makes the gray blend with the other shades that still remain in the hair,” says Gina Rivera, hair artist and founder of Phenix Salon Suites. “It’s a great way to give boost and shine, and actually make gray hair appear more blended and rich.” This gray blending technique lasts about four to six weeks. Opt for a clear gloss, or one that leans a little cooler to match the gray tone.
Traditional Foil Highlights
Foil highlights are an OG way to cover and blend grays for a reason. Highlights add brightness and dimension and closely match bright white or silver strands.
“If you have similar hair to Gwyneth Paltrow—a blonde who has gray—but you’re not ready to commit to a single process, you may want to try a high lift blonde foil highlight,” Paglionico says. “This technique does not use bleach. Instead, it blends your natural with a blonde color. The growth is subtle as there are no harsh lines at the root.”
Highlights and Lowlights
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If you don’t want to go all bright with highlights, ask your stylist for a combination of both highlights and lowlights. This approach creates a super natural, seamless look that easily blends grays in the process. “This is my go-to approach for clients ready to embrace a lived-in, dimensional color,” says Christine Bellemare, hair stylist and owner of Maven A Collect. “The key here is using teeny-tiny highlights, sometimes called mini-lights, or techniques like the herringbone method, where different shades are woven throughout the hair to create a natural, multi-tonal effect.”
By incorporating both highlights and lowlights, you create an optical illusion where grays seamlessly blend into the rest of the hair. Plus, this technique significantly extends the time between salon visits.
Root Smudge
A root smudge is often added after a single-process color or highlighting appointment as a way to create more dimension and soften grow out. This technique—which uses semi- or demi-permanent color just at the root—can help soften the contrast between grays and natural hair. It’s ideal for a low-maintenance, natural look, and an alternative to a full root touch-up with permanent hair color.
Single Process Color
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Single process blending is an excellent way to beautifully blend gray hair with your natural hair color. It works well on all hair colors, but is especially helpful for those with darker strands.
“Salma Hayek has always been a brunette, but I never noticed her gray hair until recently,” Paglionico says. “It looks as though she has been letting her natural color grow out. She is still a brunette, but has about 25% gray. Rather than covering them completely, it looks as though her colorist has been blending her gray in with a demi permanent or permanent color that is similar to her natural.”
Cool Hair Toner
Toners are applied after highlighting or all-over color to help achieve the tone you’re going for. Opting for a cool toner can help effortless blend grays with the rest of your hair while eliminating brassiness. Unlike permanent dye, toner deposits color without lifting, creating a more natural and sheer finish. It gradually fades over time, so regular touch-ups help maintain vibrancy.
Baby Lights
Another way to blend grays into dark hair is to have your stylist weave in baby lights. These are super fine, strategically placed highlights that break up heavy gray patches without over-lightening your hair, Bellemare says. “Since dark hair naturally tends to pull warm when lifted, it’s crucial to tone these highlights into a cooler shade to mimic the natural appearance of gray,” she adds. “Cool tones help neutralize unwanted warmth and create a more harmonious blend with the existing grays, making the hair look naturally highlighted rather than artificially colored.”
